Food identities: biomolecular archaeology reveals multiple and dynamic social identities

Introduction

The major challenge of archaeological identity studies stems from the dynamic, multidimensional, performative, and contextual nature of identities, which are hard to grasp through the material remains alone.

Addressing Complexities

To tackle the complexities of different identity manifestations, one possible solution is to investigate the social phenomena that bridge both daily and special events. These phenomena:

• Apply to all members of a community
• Cover different social categories
• Are not limited to material culture

One of these phenomena is FOOD!

Project Overview

Building on the concept of social foodways, FoodID sets out to reveal how ancient dietary practices reflect individual and group identities. This will be achieved through:

• Combining cutting-edge biomolecular dietary analysis
• In-depth socio-archaeological contextualisation

Methodological Framework

This methodological conceptualisation will be applied to eastern Baltic protohistory (1000-1400 AD; EBP), which serves as a socio-cultural melting pot of multidimensional identity dynamics. This is due to its:

• Diverse foreign contacts
• Intensified social stratification
• Different religions
• Political power-plays

Research Techniques

By the systematic integration of well-developed and novel biomolecular methods applied to human skeletal remains and pottery food residues, the project will reveal:

a) Unique high-resolution individual dietary portraits
b) Intersectional social dietary profiles reflecting multiple and dynamic identity manifestations in different EBP contexts

Comparative Analysis

Furthermore, the diachronic and synchronic inter- and intrasite comparisons will help to reveal the contextual and situational nature of identity negotiations.

Conclusion

FoodID will validate dietary practices as socially embedded and actively embodied performative phenomena that invigorate multidimensional and dynamic individual and group identities in past societies. The project will advance social dietary archaeology by building synergetic bridges between the humanities and natural sciences, and highlight the cultural legacy of food in identity building in the past as well as today.